Hi-loft vs. our top pick in its price range

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More about the Simmons Hi-Loft

In our ratings this is currently the top model from the company. Let’s look at what makes it tick and, more importantly, see how it fares up against the currently top-rated air bed overall.

The listed maximum weight capacity of 700 pounds is currently one of the highest in the industry – only a handful of other models come close.

It features channel beam design and economic top with the velvet-like finish.

Let’s look at some basic facts of the three sizes it comes in:

Twin – 74 x 38 x 16 inches with the listed weight of 9.4 pounds

Full – dimensions 74 x 53 x 16 inches, weight 13 pounds

Queen – 80 x 60 x 17 inches in size, listed weight 17 pounds

Frequently asked questions about the Simmons Beautyrest air mattress Hi-Loft

Is it an option for camping?

The pump that comes with the Beauty Rest series is electric and built-in, so using it for outdoors and camping might be an option if you have a power source at the site.

Can I use a different pump with it?

The built-in pump is AC power-operated and, for outdoor, use you will need to pair it with a power adapter or converter and make sure the nozzle fits.

Portability and storage

Because of the thicker materials used, the Hi-Loft is pretty heavy, compared to the products of similar size. The downside of that is that it doesn’t back as small or light.

The ergonomic design of the is unique in a few ways.

First of all, the outer edge is slightly raised, which is a nice plus for restless sleepers who then to lose and chase their sheets and pillows.

Vertical stability

One of the crucial features of any inflatable is vertical stability – for a number of reasons.

Not only does it influence the comfort of the bed but it’s also factor in terms of durability and longevity.

Air bed that are more stable tend to have a longer lifespan because the stitching and the seams don’t take as much “abuse”.

Floor grip and sliding

The Hi-Loft includes what the company calls lower angle beam construction which is designed to create a recessed panel at the bottom and, in turn, create a suction effect with the floor when burdened.

Sturdiness of the top edges

The beam that encircles the top surface is there to provide additional support for the edges.

This is important for sleeper school toss and turn during the night, since inflatables with a completely flat top come with the risk of rolling over the sides.

The carry bag of the Hi-Loft

The nylon-based carry bag is one of the sturdiest we’ve seen.
Carry bags that come included with the blowup mattresses are usually flimsy and the stitching tends to separate with frequent use, but we don’t see that happening with this product.

Patented system for adjusting the firmness

You can adjust the firmness of this inflatable at the push of a button – in the range from plush to firm.

The hands-free pump is one of the most powerful we have seen.

It’s a two-way, which means that it does both (inflation/deflation). The add-on adapter included with the pump (with extra nozzles )allows you to use it for other inflatables.

The quick release valve let’s all tear out in just seconds, making the deflation and storage quicker and easier.

he one downside about the pump is that, to the best of our knowledge, it doesn’t include an air-stop feature. This basically means that it’s up to you to close the valve as quick as possible after finishing the inflation.

What might be a good tip here is to slightly over-inflate the bed, which will give you a second or two to plug the valve.

How well it holds air

The percentages of air leaks developed both on arrival and within the first few weeks of use are somewhat higher compared to most of the air beds we tested and reviewed the years.

What we’ve seen people reporting as a flaw are structural issues…the chambers bursting or mysterious leaks that don’t have any apparent cause.

Based on our experience these are usually caused by pinholes, leaking around the pump area or a slight separation of the seams or stitching.

Issues with the height

One common complaint that kept seeing in reviews of the owners is related to the product is being true to size. So let’s clarify that.
The twin and full-size sit at 16 inches, while the queen-size is 7 inches high which puts the Hi-Loft (speaking in the industry lingo) in the range of mid-rises.

We believe that the confusion stems from the fact that the word “hi-loft” is included in the name.

The bottom line is to make sure that you read and fully understand the specific listed by the company before making a decision.

Sheets

We would recommend using deep-pocket fitted sheets. The site indentations are deep enough to hold them firmly.

Initial inflation and first use

The directions included with this inflatable state you should inflate/deflate the bed several times, for about a week, before you use it for the first time.

This gives the vinyl time to fully stretch and adjust so that you won’t see any significant sinking or pressure changes in the long run.
Adding air

Most owners report that they and air every few nights.

What we’re talking about here is not substantial air loss that would qualify as a leak

Rather, it’s simply a natural pressure drop caused by the stretching of the vinyl or the micro-leaks that usually happen around the area of the pump.

SmartAire vs. top-rated low-rise

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Availability of the Simmons Beautyrest air mattresses

Beautyrest air beds are carried by some of the largest retail stores in the US like Walmart, Target, Wayfair and online retailers like Amazon.

As per the Walmart website, they offer a two-day shipping on the Beautyrest air beds.

The Beautyrest collection at Walmart website includes both high-rise we talked about above with additional models from the collection such as:

Beautyrest Extraordinaire Raised Air Bed Mattress with iFlex Support (available in Twin, Full and Queen)

Beautyrest 18″ Queen Raised Contour Aire

This model from Simmons Beautyrest has the highest listed weight capacity we have seen, with a mind-boggling 850 pounds.

Beautyrest Comfort Suite Adjustable Raised Queen Air Bed
The Comfort Suite same impressive capacity is the Contour Aire and comes with the two year warranty.

Simmons Beautyrest Comfort Suite

Some of the other products available at Walmart are:

Lumbar Lux Queen Raised

Fusion Aire 18″ Raised Queen

Simmons Beautyrest Memory Aire 18″ Raised Queen

Beautyrest air bed Skyrise raised pillow top

Hi-Loft DeepSleep Beautyrest full size air mattress

Simmons Lubar Lux air mattress

Availability of replacement pumps

Simmons Beautyrest air mattress pump replacement can be found on Amazon.

Since it’s a pretty unique model you should be careful to make the precise fit when replacing the pump.

Materials

Materials used are similar, most of the time it’s multilayered of vinyl…the difference is the thickness

That’s what allows the products from the Beautyrest series to list weight limits that are 10 to 20% higher than most products we review over the past few years.

As we stressed a few times before the pump is unique and powerful. While most similar products take about 3 to 4 minutes for full inflation, our stats tell us that an average that time is shorter with Simmons products.

The downside seems to be the construction and how well it works with the valve.

It’s fair to say that if we had a degree of “usability rating for the valve” it would be lower than that of other brands because of the absence of an air-stop and the fact that you manually have to plug in the valve.

This especially goes for the products in the lower price range

Comparison to other brands

While compiling this guide we went through thousands of reviews comparing the materials , capacity and other quality aspect.

Some of the conclusions we’ve reached are summarized below.

The range of Simmons air mattresses starts on the cheaper side and some of them cost as low as 40 or $50.

It’s fair to say that if you’re looking for an affordable the airbed, Simmons might be the way to go.

But the information we gathered seems to show a pattern of lower reliability in terms of structural issues on arrival and air-leak problems developed over time.

The advantage of the models we analyzed we below is that they are in the lower range of the price scale. In that price range, they compate against companies like Intex and Embark.

Simmons – about the company

Airbeds are not the primary product of the Simmons Bedding Company and their focus are classic mattresses and bedding.

Founded in 1870, Simmons Bedding is one of the companies with the longest tradition in the industry.They are based in Atlanta and best-known for the Beautyrest brand.

Manufacturing facilities operate both in the US and Puerto Rico – 18 of them combined.

International licensing

What’s interesting is that they are licensing their name to other companies internationally.

This means that if you get a Simmons airbed it might be made by another company and yet carry the Simmons name.

In the case of the products we looked at above we saw the listed manufactured to be Boyd Specialty Sleep.

Warranty

If you’re buying from Amazon the details of Simmons airbed warranty can be obtained by directly contacting the customer service. On the other hand, most products listed with Walmart come with a two-year warranty.

Growth

The latest information we have available dates back to 2011. According to that report, the company claimed 15.7% of the US mattress market share.

History

The story of Simmons dates back to 1870 when the founder, Zalmon G. Simmons, started the first manufacturing facility in Wisconsin…Kenosha, to be more precise.

Initially, the company manufactured telegraph insulators and cheese boxes and started spreading into the mattress industry after they received the rights to a patent for a bed spring based on woven wire.

The woven wire patent

With that in mind its fair to say that there beginnings in the mattress industry where result of circumstance because the initial patents was received as a debt payment.

Since receiving the patent the company turned its its focus to mass-producing mattresses based on the woven wire.

Mass production

They started mass production in 1876 and were the first company to do it.

The shift to mass produce allowed the company to make the mattresses cheaper and it wasn’t long before they introduced the spiral coil into their mattresses – that happened in 1889.

The introduction of coil springs was a big deal, not only simmons, but for the mattress industry is a whole.

It’s what allowed the company to drop the price of an average mattress from $12 to under $1, which revolutionized the industry
It made the product widely available and affordable to most people.

Momentum and growth

As the momentum of the growth was increasing, Simmons reacted by acquiring and setting up new manufacturing facilities across the United States, primarily in California (San Francisco Los Angeles) and all-around Canada, including Toronto and Vancouver.

A change in the business model

Very soon, they changed the business model drastically. Instead of buying the products at face value, their customers were soon given the opportunity to test the mattresses on samples available in stores and then have their chosen products shipped within 24 hours.

The Hide-A-Bed

Another important milestone came in 1940 with the introduction of a pull-out sofa. Soon, this type of sofa became the product that Simmons was best known for.

Simmons as we know it today

Today, the company is owned by Advent international which is a US-based, privately owned equity firm.

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